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Was This Item A Scam? Please Advise.
I recently won an auction for close to $1,000. The item has not been marked as shipped and after 3 days, the seller will not repond to my messages (4). When I uploaded the seller's ad pictures of the item to Google Image search, it found all three photos on an unrelated website. They were not of the actual item. Should I cancel the order? Any valid advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
8 comments
lady_madonna
Mentor2 years ago@paxeonic
Buyers cannot cancel their orders.
What is the estimated date of delivery as shown in your Purchase History?
IF/WHEN the latest estimated date of delivery has already passed by at least 1 day, you have up to 30 days past estimated date of delivery to file a Refund Request:
Go to your My Ebay page >> Purchase history
If the seller does not respond after 3 days, you can ask Ebay to step in to help you.
paxeonic
OP2 years agoYou said, 'Buyers cannot cancel their orders', yet on the purchase page there is a link that says, 'Cancel this order'. Please clarify. Thanks.
lady_madonna
Mentor2 years ago@paxeonicBuyers can only REQUEST that the order be cancelled, it would be up to the seller to approve/decline the cancellation request.
EDITED TO ADD: The seller can ship at any time, as long as the item arrives to the buyer by/on the latest estimated date of delivery. Also sellers do not have to mark when the item is shipped nor provide tracking information.
paxeonic
OP2 years agoThanks for clarifying. The seller is not responding to my messages. Here is the item. (See link.) Please let me know what your opinion is as to whether it is legit. The photos are stock from another site. Seller joined 1 month ago and has no feedback. https://www.ebay.com/itm/305317087640
lady_madonna
Mentor2 years ago@paxeonic
I don't know if it is legit or not, but I personally do not buy expensive items from sellers with no feedback, nor do I purchase expensive items from international sellers.
As I stated, file a Refund Request when the estimated date of delivery has passed by at least 1 day.
Good luck!
shipscript
·2 years ago@paxeonic
In a search for ended listings since October, it appears that similar zero sellers have been removed from the site. They all showed an item location in another country to extend the delivery time, with free shipping. There is an extremely high likelihood this is also a scam, particularly with the purloined photos. I recommend contacting customer support to get the item removed and the purchase cancelled.
Use the "Contact us" option at the bottom of this page and type "agent" into the chat that opens (you may need to type "report seller" and then "agent" again).
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/resolving-issues-sellers/report-issue-seller?id=4022
For your argument, below are similar items that were removed:
186179575146
374992862105
404600411600
166389192730
285490799011
and below are the similarities in ended listings:
paxeonic
OP2 years agoThank you. I followed your instructions and spoke with an agent who informed me that other than contacting the seller to request a cancellation, I must wait until the 'expected delivery date' has passed to request a refund through ebay. The seller hasn't responded to 4 of my messages, so I doubt that requesting a cancellation will receive a reply, either. And the expected delivery date is only a few days away. So, I'm going to wait. The agent also informed me that sellers do not get paid until ebay has verified that the item has actually been delivered to the buyer (providing a tracking number or 'ship notification' doesn't count). Knowing that (and I'm simply posting these things for anyone else who might be wondering the same thing), I don't know what the advantage is for a seller to try and scam someone like this, since they're not going to get paid. I mean, why bother? Unless it's simply to create an inconvenience for the buyer, due to their funds being tied up, temporarily. Thus, one benefit of using a credit card for purchases, rather than a debit card. Ebay's guarantee of receiving a refund, if the item is not received, is also a plus. Thanks to you all for the help. Much appreciated!
shipscript
·2 years ago@paxeonic
Thanks for the followup. A cancellation request is not the appropriate action when dealing with a scam. I was hoping you would reach Trust & Safety, who know how to evaluate scams. But, I wasn't aware you were so close to the delivery date. However, keep in mind, it is the latest delivery date that is used to open a claim.
The new scammers may not understand that eBay holds funds until delivery, otherwise, many of us wonder why they try. Those in-the-know may simply be hoping that some buyer along the way misses the claims window and that the funds will be released.